Black Butler: Let the Monster Rise
by BlueRaven 666
Summary: Ciel abandons Sebastian after a complicated discovery forces the butler to hide vital information from him. But after giving a sarcastic order, the young earl's time to take the order back is limited. Can the stubborn boy find it in himself to forgive his butler for one mistake? WARNINGS: OOCness, sad moments. PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

**Black Butler: Let the Monster Rise**

There had to be something.

Sebastian had been searching the ruins of the old mansion for the longest time; ever since the new mansion had been rebuilt as a replica of the original. All this time, he had been hunting down clues that would bring him closer to the ones responsible for the tragedy that happened two years ago, and he'd found nothing as of yet that could possibly narrow down the suspects.

It had gotten to the point where Sebastian was on his hands and knees as he searched every square inch of the pile of rubble he came across. He didn't care if he'd searched the same pile five times already. Nowhere he searched before had brought up better results. No one he had asked all over England new a damn thing about who might be responsible for the fire that killed Vincent Phantomhive and his wife Rachel. Nobody knew who was responsible for kidnapping Ciel afterwards. Nobody knew anything!

Sebastian took a deep breath through his nose, trying to pick up a scent; any scent that wasn't that of rain-soaked wood or charred roof tiles. On two occasions he caught a whiff of a rodent or some dead animal – things that were insignificant and wouldn't help him.

There had to be something, something small that he was overlooking. He decided to examine the rubble more thoroughly, picking up each individual piece and scanning it with his eyes and nose, searching for something – even if it was microscopic – that was out of place. He knew very well that not everything was completely destroyed in any fire. There's always something left behind, and so long as there was something left behind, there was enough evidence for Sebastian. The only bad thing about that was finding that evidence was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Sebastian searched the remains of the old manor in segments; the ballroom, the parlor, the library, the study, and the drawing room. From everything he'd been able to gather thus far, he knew that the fire had been started when a flammable substance had been ignited in the parlor and the library. The dog, Sebastian, had been killed first so the person responsible could avoid being caught by the creature's barking. And, somehow, the butler was able to figure that the attacker hadn't been alone; as in there was someone who had been in charge of murdering the earl and his wife while someone else started the fire. The only thing he had to do was get names and faces so he could hunt them down.

During his search, Sebastian found himself being brought back to the same pile of rubble. It was one that he had already searched through piece by piece and one that he was sure contained no significance in terms of providing him with clues or answers. But he had learned a long time ago that he should trust his instincts and he started to sift through the rubble once more.

Burnt wood, broken glass, the charred remains of what used to be expensive carpets or rugs – all of them were bits of trash he'd seen, examined, and thought had no significance in putting this puzzle together. That changed, though, when he'd noticed something stuck to a bit of wood. When he first picked it up, he dismissed it as a mere feather; one that could have come from a bird passing by. But as he looked at it, Sebastian began seeing things that made this feather stand out from that of an ordinary bird. It was large, nearly as big as his hand. He tried to take in the scent.

Rain . . . Soil . . . Charred wood . . . Burnt rugs . . .

Sebastian resorted to desperate measures. He stuck the feather into his mouth and rolled it around with his tongue and began sorting through the other scents, as in his demonic form his tongue worked a lot like that of a snake's; sensitive to smell.

Little animals . . . Insects . . .

Sebastian paused and ran his tongue over the feather once more.

Angel. This feather smelled like an angel, and to a demon that was not a good thing. It had come from an angel. But which one?

Sebastian spat the feather back out into his hand. Rolling it in his mouth had taken away the dirt that had been covering it, revealing a crisp, white color. He stared at it a while, trying to place a face and name. He did come across this angel's scent before, but who was it?

A howl from the other side of the property made Sebastian wrinkled his nose in disgust. Pluto, the demon hound, had only been living at the manor for a few months, and he was more trouble than Mey-rin, Finny, and Bard put together. He still wished Ciel hadn't accepted Angela's offer to bring him here. In fact, the mongrel still smelled like Angela . . .

And then it clicked.

Sebastian took another whiff of the feather to confirm his suspicions. It was her, all right. This feather belonged to the angel Angela.

He would've been fine leaving it at that, but Sebastian knew the occupation of almost every immortal in England, and Angela happened to be affiliated with Ashe Landers, who was also an angel that worked for Queen Victoria as a butler; the queen Ciel was the loyal watchdog to.

Poking around some more within the piles, he found a bit of carpeting that still had blood on it; the blood of Vincent and Rachel Phantomhive. It too had Angela's scent on it. Everything was making sense to him. The queen must have ordered the deaths of the earl and his wife and for the estate to be burned down, and it was Ashe and Angela who carried out the dirty work.

Sebastian couldn't help but smirk.

"This is going to be interesting to explain to the young master."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Angela wasn't the type to take no for an answer, and Sebastian telling her that seeing Pluto at the manor wasn't a good idea didn't change that. Of course, the timing was brilliant, as well. She had arrived in London late at night and had reached the Phantomhive manor on foot by daybreak at a time when Sebastian was preoccupied, Pluto was sleeping, the other servants were busy, and Ciel was alone in his study. Then again, she knew better. Sebastian would sense her presence the moment she set foot on the property and Pluto now always listened to Sebastian, so he'd be running up along side him.

Her reason for being at the manor was also brilliant. She had known all along that Sebastian would eventually find out who was really responsible for the events that took place two years ago, but now she'd found an advantage. It was three weeks ago that the butler had solved this puzzle with a mere feather that had carelessly fallen from one of her wings. However, unbeknownst to her, he hadn't bothered to say anything about it to Ciel.

And now she was going to use this opportunity to expose the fact that Sebastian was hiding things from his precious master. Angry, Ciel could order him to do anything; punish himself, leave, carry out the revenge, or – with any luck – he just might order death onto the butler. An exaggerated thought, but one she loved to play with it in her mind.

Slipping into the mansion, Angela made her way to Ciel's study; following the repeatedly traveled scent of demonic essence leading to and from one door on the second floor. She entered the room and found Ciel sitting at his desk trying to build a house out of playing cards.

"So this is what you do when nobody else is around."

Ciel jumped slightly upon hearing Angela's voice, a move that costed him dearly as his house of cards fell into a massive heap.

"What on earth are you doing here?" He asked, "Even I know Sebastian didn't want you visiting."

Angela laughed, "Do you think that butler of yours tells you everything?"

Ciel crossed his arms, "He's never withheld any information from me before, unless it was something I really didn't need to know."

The statement made Angela laugh louder, "Goodness, then I have a bit of information about your butler that you might not be so pleased to hear."

Ciel cocked his head curiously, "Oh?"

"It involves a little something he found in the ruins of the old manor a couple of weeks ago, something that's vital to solving your parents' murders."

"You are being ridiculous. Sebastian would never hide something like that, not even if his life depended on it. Where are you getting this from, anyway?"

Angela leaned back casually against a wall and smirked.

"I only watched him stash the evidence away into a pocket in this tailcoat. He did plan on telling you, of course, but why he hasn't done so after so long as a mystery even to me."

Ciel held a shocked expression on his face.

"Anyways, it's just a shame to me that the efforts of your attackers were wasted. I'm just so surprised Sebastian was able to rebuild this mansion as an exact replica of the old one. Doesn't it make you wonder why that is; how he was able to do it without knowing the exact layout or appearance of the old mansion?"

The expression on Ciel's face didn't change as he slowly stood from his chair.

"Sebastian. Would never. Do that! He wouldn't attack my family. He wouldn't burn down my home. And he most certainly wouldn't keep vital information like that from me!"

"I never said he did attack your family or burn down the mansion, but believe me when I say he's hiding something from you. Don't you want to do something about it? Maybe punish him?"

Another voice cut hers off there.

"That will be quite enough of that, Angela."

Angela shivered as Sebastian's cold voice sent chills down her spine. She turned to him slowly.

The butler gave her a friendly but sinister smile.

"You're upsetting my master and your presence here is unexpected. I must kindly ask you to leave, or I shall have to escort you out myself."

Angela gave him a wary smile, knowing the meaning behind his potent words, "Of course. I was just about to leave anyway." She quickly turned to Ciel, "Remember what I said. He's hiding things from you, and you will be horribly disappointed when you realize that I'm right."

And with that, the angel turned on her heel and walked away.

Ciel slowly sat back down in this chair with the shock expression still coating his face. He looked up at Sebastian. The demon's gaze was tossed over his shoulder, watching the angel go. Slowly, his gaze turned back to him.

Silence.

"You seemed troubled, my lord," Sebastian eventually said with a concerned look on his face, "Is something the matter?"

Ciel took a few slow breaths, trying to regain his composure.

"No, no, it's nothing ," he said, "I'm just frustrated. She interrupted me when I was very busy. Now I'm even further behind on my paperwork."

Sebastian glanced to Ciel's desk. Indeed there were stacks of paperwork on the surface of it, but they were covered by a layer of playing cards. He couldn't help but smirk.

"Very well, I'll let you get back to your "work" then. Did you need anything?"

Ciel shook his head, "No, I just finished my tea. I'm fine."

Sebastian bowed and casually walked out of the study, almost as if nothing had happened. But he had heard most of Angela's conversation with Ciel. He reached into one of the pockets of his tailcoat and pulled out the crisp white feather he had found a few weeks ago. He only glanced at it briefly before putting it back into his pocket.

He had his own reasons for not telling Ciel. Not selfish, but it would be enough to get him in trouble and Ciel had been known for dealing out brutal punishments.

He knew he'd be hearing about this later.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ciel spent a large amount of time thinking over what Angela had said; days, in fact. No matter how many times he tried to tell himself that Angela was wrong and no matter how much he wanted to believe that Sebastian wasn't hiding anything important from him, what she had said installed a certain amount of doubt in his mind. What if Sebastian _was_ hiding something from him?

His worrying had worsened his nightmares. Whenever he'd ask Sebastian to stay in his room until he fell asleep, he'd have dreams about the demon attacking him once he'd blown out the candles. And then there were new dreams that he couldn't understand it all. Sebastian would be standing or walking, normally by himself aside from a shadow that would follow him. He didn't know what the these dreams had to do with anything, but they'd be enough to disturb him out of his sleep, and he'd always find Sebastian still standing beside his bed.

Considering this, Ciel knew he couldn't go without talking about this with Sebastian any longer. He'd been driven to madness! But . . . what would he do if Sebastian was hiding vital information from him?

Bracing himself or whatever might happen, Ciel rang for his butler. In mere seconds, he heard the rhythm of Sebastian's shoes moving through the downstairs, up the staircase, down the hall towards the study's door where they stopped. The knob to the door turned and Sebastian stepped inside.

"Did you need something, sir?"

Ciel let out a small sigh, "I need to speak with you about something. Come in."

Sebastian nodded and closed the door behind them. He knew this was coming, and now it was time to face the music.

"About what Angela said the other day," Ciel began, "How much of that was true?"

Sebastian has gotten out of situations like this in other contracts before, but Ciel's contract was different. He had been specifically ordered not to lie to him. Now was no different.

"To think that blasted past knew what I was doing astounds me," he said, "but for her to say that I was hiding things from you, Master, seems to me a bit exaggerated. I found two things a few weeks ago that stood out prominently from the ruins of the old mansion."

Sebastian reached into a pocket in his tailcoat. Not only did he pull out the feather, but he also pulled out the burnt piece of carpeting that had been stained with blood.

"These."

Ciel scoffed as the items were placed on his desk in front of them.

"A dove's feather and burnt trash from the old mansion. Are you seriously trying to tell me that these contained some vital information that we couldn't pick up before?"

Sebastian nodded , "There's more to it than that. This isn't a dove's feather, it's a smaller feather from one of Angela's wings. It was caked in dirt and ashes when I first stumbled upon it, so the scent was heavily masked, but once I cleaned it off I was able to recognize her scent from when we were in Houndsworth."

"And . . . how is that linked to my parents' murders?"

Sebastian swallowed. He knew from here Ciel would grow angry at him, but there was no way for him to save himself now.

"The smell of the feather links in with the burnt bit of carpeting. The blood that's on it matches the scent of your parents, which I recognize well. The scent lingers in the rubble of the old mansion; in the wood, in the glass, in the roof tiles. It also lingers on your ring, because your father had worn it many times."

"Sebastian . . . Exactly what is it that you're trying to tell me?"

"What I'm trying to say is . . . the blood on that bit of carpeting doesn't smell entirely like your parents. Angela scent is there too; mixed in with the blood somehow."

"What does that mean?"

Sebastian let out a heavy sigh, "It means Angela had played a role in the fire and in the deaths of your parents. All angels are obsessed with purity, and the one that bears that obsession the strongest is Ashe Landers."

"The Queen's butler?"

"The Queen's butler and another angel that is closely affiliated with Angela; meaning that it was the Queen that ordered the destruction of your mansion, and she used Ashe to do it and Angela was the accomplice. All that information from just a feather and a bit of rubble."

Silence fell between them as Ciel struggled to absorb all that Sebastian was trying to tell him. The butler hadn't come right out and said it, but he knew.

"So . . . So Angela was telling the truth. You _were_ hiding vital information from me!" Ciel stood up fast from his desk, "You, of all people, hid vital information from me. For over three weeks! Why did you do it? If you knew that this would help me achieve my revenge quicker, meaning you would also get your next meal quicker, why hold back?"

Sebastian grit his teeth and shame.

"You have to understand that these are not the first items I came across that I thought contained vital information. There were other things that I thought contained leads, looking into these items further, I realized that they didn't have any significance whatsoever. That's what I was doing with these clues, looking into them to see if the information was valid; otherwise you would have just been fueled by false hope."

Ciel snorted in annoyance, "And how does that explain why it took three damn weeks to decide if the information was valid or not? Normally, a task like that is no problem and you are able to figure it all out in a few minutes."

Sebastian looked away, "I do not have a good reason for that, sir."

Ciel wasn't known for snapping at Sebastian so easily. Alright, he was, but never this bad.

"Bloody hell, Sebastian! To think I trusted you. Then again, I suppose it serves me right for putting my trust into a demon!"

"Young master . . ."

"Shut up! Go crawl into a hole and die for all I care. I can't stand to see your face anymore. Leave! That's an order!"

Sebastian had no other choice but to comply. He gave a small bow and turned on his heel as he started towards the door. He only gave a small glance over her shoulder to Ciel before walking out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The anger Ciel felt for Sebastian didn't pass. In some ways, he wish that it had. Bard now cooked the dinners, which meant dealing with burnt and tasteless food. Mey-rin couldn't walk in a straight line to save her life, and she had broken half of the decent tea sets and dishes. Finny's strength had destroyed portions of the garden and different items he used were now either dented or broken altogether. Despite these hardships, however, Ciel refused to call Sebastian back.

Now, he solely relied on Tanaka. Whenever Bard ruined a meal, Tanaka would go off and make him something else to eat. The elderly steward would do his best to substitute plates and cups from other tea sets. As for the garden, he could only leave it to Finny to clean up the mess. At night, he'd prepare Ciel for bed. Even at 12 years old, the earl didn't know how to button the buttons of his own nightshirt. And they were once the old dress shirts Sebastian would use. Now that he thought about it, he should have watched to see exactly how his own daily routine was done.

The next morning, Tanaka woke him up with tea prepared and a breakfast menu ready.

"I must inquire about something," Tanaka spoke up after Ciel was dressed.

"What is it?"

"Where's Sebastian?"

Ciel went silent. He hadn't thought about what he was going to tell the other servants about Sebastian's leaving. They'd surely be upset, because it was him and Ciel himself that had taken them in and had given them jobs. Even now, he wasn't sure if he had exactly fired Sebastian. For now, all he knew was that he hadd ordered Sebastian to leave and that he couldn't stand to see the butler's face anymore. Who knows how he could've interpreted that?

"He left," was all the young earl could say.

"He left?" Tanaka inquired, "Do you mean to say he's quit, and without any prior notice?"

"Not exactly. We had a little bit of a disagreement yesterday and he left to let things cool down. What? He didn't tell you anything?"

"Not a thing," Tanaka confirmed, "None of us really saw him yesterday, except for in the morning when we when he gave us our duties for the day."

Ciel nodded, "I see. Well, give him a few days. It was a very heated argument. In the meantime, I'd like to do some cooling off, myself. I need to get away for a little while."

"So, you would like to go to the house in town, then?"

"No, I was thinking more along the lines of visiting an old friend. Alois Trancy is bound to be wondering what I've been doing all this time, and his butler Claude is a very competent man."

Tanaka tilted his head curiously, "Wouldn't it just be easier to make contact with Sebastian and sort things out?"

Ciel sighed, "I don't think any amount of contact will be able to settle things between us. It's better if we both take a few days away."

There was a truth he kept hidden. The truth was that he didn't expect Sebastian to return anytime soon; not unless he ordered him to do so otherwise. The reason he wanted to go to the Trancy mansion was because he had nowhere else to go that had competent servants. He only heard about Alois Trancy, and his butler was rumored to be just as brilliant as Sebastian. Rumored to be, that is.

Within a day, contact was made with the Trancys about Ciel's coming over, something Tanaka was surprised they didn't object to. Ciel's things were packed and loaded into a carriage. The servants met him outside the mansion to say their goodbyes and they waved to him as the carriage pulled away. The earl could still hear them even when they'd made it to the road.

"Goodbye, young master! We'll see you again soon!"

* * *

From the point Sebastian had walked out the door to Ciel study, he didn't stop walking. He walked several miles away from the Phantomhive Manor, through hundreds of miles of forest, through valleys and over mountains, across meadows, and he even swam across a few rivers and lakes; all just reach one destination. Hell.

Eventually, he did find it; a deep gorge in earth across a patch of black and white roses that was only 100 feet across, but several miles long. That gorge was the official entrance to his realm.

And even there, Sebastian still didn't stop walking. He stepped off the edge of the gorge without hesitation and landed on both of his feet.

As he traveled through Hell, many demons acknowledged his presence. Some dipped their heads in respect, some only gave him a brief glance, some glared at him, and some had to be held back to be kept from attacking him. That was the way demons treated each other. They were either respectful, hateful, or they just didn't care; behaviors he had also found within humans in the human realm.

Sebastian kept walking until he came to a very large castle. Dark and dreary in appearance, the castle looked as if it could have been haunted. However, the inhabitants of this castle were living. This was the home of Satan Lucifer himself. Demons were free to come and go from the building without much need for notice, because, for the moment, Hell's ruler was incredibly bored.

Sebastian had been in this castle many times before, so he knew the layout of it well. It was easy for him to find his way to the throne room; a large room that was located at the heart of the castle.

And on his throne he sat, a majestic immortal cloaked in black silks and furs. His only crown were the pair of curling horns, similar to those of a ram, sprouting from a full head of thick black hair. He sat with his head resting on the knuckles of his left hand. His soulless black eyes could freeze fires and melt glaciers and gouge the truth out of the most well-trained liars. A god to the damned and the forgotten, this was Satan.

Sebastian approached the elder demon without hesitation or fear. He stopped before the pedestal holding up the ruler's throne and proceeded to bow before him, folding his body in until his head rested against the rugs on the floor with his hands pushed out in front of him. It was an amount of respect he'd never show to Ciel in a million years.

"Rise," Satan ordered.

Sebastian obeyed and stood.

"Well, well, well," the elder demon chided, "To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you here? I thought you were caught up in a contract, Michaelis."

"I have been dismissed."

"Uh-huh, but why come here to me? Oh! Have you come to torture the prisoners?"

"No, your Majesty."

"Then . . . perhaps gossip?"

"No."

Satan shot him a pondering look, "You're a lot more laconic than usual. Has something happened?"

"It is as I told you, your Majesty; I have been dismissed."

Satan raised a curious brow, "Eh?"

"My master has ordered me out of his sights. I do quote, 'go crawl into a hole and die for all I care. I can't stand to see your face anymore. Leave! That's an order!'."

"I see. I see. But which part of that order do you need my help with?"

"The 'go crawl into a hole and die' part of it."

Satan rubbed at his chin in thought, "I never thought of that as an order."

"Neither did Ciel, but the way I see it, telling me to do something translates into an order."

Satan nodded, "But is that truly what you want? To die?"

"In all honesty, yes. If I keep serving under that brat, I'm going to die, one way or the other, just based on what I do for his sake on a daily basis. Besides, he overreacted this time. He isn't deserving of me, and I'd like to escape him however I can."

"Alright, Raven, alright. But in what way should this be carried out?"

Sebastian sought. His death could be simple; a beheading, or perhaps stabbedthrough the heart with a demon sword. His death could be brutal; drawn and quartered, or he could have each of his limbs tied to a Hellhound and ripped apart. But none of those options seemed to be fulfilling enough.

"I've lived along and idle life as a demon," he finally said, "And with that long and idle life came the taking of life. As I die, I'd like that life to be given back to the earth. All the years that I have lived and could have lived."

"A life-force drain, then?"

"Yes."

"Under what conditions?"

"Under the condition that I'm given time to find a secluded place to die; a place where I can remain undisturbed by anyone, especially Ciel. A place that's dying and in need of new life."

Satan was silent for sometime before he spoke.

"It will be done, then. But I have some conditions of my own."

Sebastian frowned, "Name them."

"None of this seems at all fair on your master. Taking your services away from him without giving him a chance is a selfish act, if you ask me. The sort of enchantment that will be draining your life source should be reversible somehow. Name the one thing to reverse the enchantment, Michaelis, and I will send you on your way."

"And if I refuse? I don't wish for it to be reversible."

"If you refuse, I will simply have you beheaded, your own wish as to how you die will not be taken into consideration."

Sebastian snorted in annoyance, "Fine! To reverse the enchantment then . . . " He thought hard and a light came on in his head, " To reverse the enchantment, Ciel must weep for me."

Satan seemed confused, "It shall be done then. But might I ask why the boy must shed tears to reverse the enchantment? It seems like something simple a 12-year-old boy could do in the face of a death."

Sebastian smiled deviously.

"I chose something so simple because it's something Ciel is incapable of doing."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Sebastian had a very clear idea in his mind where he wanted his life-force drain to be carried out. It was an isolated area in a forest that had been destroyed in a fire a few months back. It would take years and years for all the vegetation and wildlife to return. It was a forest Sebastian had found peace in, in the past, and it was worthy of him giving life back to it.

Once he had reached this isolated area, which was located at the heart of the forest, Sebastian stopped and took out the things he needed to activate the enchantment; five stones that were of equal size and shape and a dark purple in color, and he was given a bag of sand.

The ritual started with the rocks being placed into a pentagon, with each rock placed equidistance from each other, Sebastian proceeded to take the bag of sand and pour it into lines that connected one rock to another until a star had been formed. The rest of the sand was used to form the details of his individual contract mark. Once he had emptied the bag, he discarded it; tossing it aside and watching it as it vanished in a burst of flames.

Sebastian stepped into the center of the symbol. He lifted his head and spoke clearly.

"Father Satan, hear me now. Drain the life from this form. From flash, heart, soul, and bone. The lives I've taken I now return. Make wildlife from ash, and fertile soil from dirt. Trees with leaves, flowers, and brush. Let the animals return and leave them undisturbed. As for me, my flesh will rot and return to the earth. Let my soul watch over this forest, free to roam. Hear me now, this is my will. Drain the life from this form. From flash, heart, soul, and bone."

Below him the contract symbol lit up brightly and sent vibrations into the ground. It all lasted for 30 seconds, give or take, before fading away. The contract symbol had been effectively burned into the ground below him.

If he hadn't known better, he would have thought the enchantment hadn't worked. But as the demon looked down, he could already see new bright green grass growing at his feet.

* * *

Ciel was warmly welcomed into the Trancy mansion. Alois had greeted him like old friends that hadn't seen each other in years. His butler Claude, the maid Hannah, and the trio of identical triplets helped carry Ciel's things inside. Not that he'd brought a lot; overnight clothes, a toothbrush, some outfits to wear, and a few darts for the sake of target practice.

Now, Ciel and Alois sat in a luxurious drawing room, playing chess and enjoying cups of tea.

"I must say, Ciel," Alois spoke up, "Exactly why did you choose to come here?"

Ciel didn't't know how to reply. How did he expect this blonde and overly excited brat to understand the circumstances that led him to come here? Sebastian wasn't accompanying him, so how would he expect him to know who Sebastian even was?

"I have my reasons," he finally said, "I needed some place to get away from my manor, and I've heard your manor offers incredible hospitality to guests."

It wasn't a total lie. He wanted to get away from his manor, but he knew very little about Alois Trancy, other than he was the Queen's spider. The lot he worked with could have formed a plot to kidnap him by now, for all he knew.

Kidnapping. Something Ciel was prone to, and now he didn't have Sebastian to save him from trouble. He would have to be careful.

Alois seemed to be pleased by Ciel's statement, "Well, that's great to hear! So what do you like doing for fun, aside from chess?"

Ciel shrugged, "I like other games, and I love to throw darts at my servants."

"Ha ha! That sounds like a blast! I like trying to find ways to make Claude smile, or get angry, or – if it's possible – cry."

"It sounds like you enjoy playing with his emotions."

Eloise scoffed, "Whatever emotions he has. The man's as stiff as a board and he has the personality of a potato."

"So he's a total stiff, then?"

"As dull as a doorstop."

Ciel smirked, "Well, I guess Sebastian can be that way too sometimes."

Alois tilted his head curiously, "Who's Sebastian?"

"Just my butler."

"But if he's your butler, then why isn't he with you like he should be?"

Ciel thought carefully. He didn't want to lie and say that Sebastian had been fired, nor did he want to bring up anything that had happened between them the other day. Then again, the only place a butler truly belonged was at his master's side.

"He's on leave at the moment visiting family."

"Family?"

"Yes."

Ciel suddenly reached up andrubbed that his eye roughly; the same eye that had his contract seal engraved in it.

"What's wrong?" Alois asked.

"My eye. My eye feels irritated."

Alois let out the curious hum, "I'll have Claude look at it. Maybe an eyelash fell in, or something."

"No, it's fine."

"Nope, if there's something that's ailing you, I cannot sit idly by and do nothing. Claude! Go help Ciel in anyway that you can!"

The Trancy butler strode over and bowed, "Yes, your highness. Right this way Earl Phantomhive."

Claude led him into a bathroom, Ciel fighting him all the way there.

"Look, this really isn't necessary. I'm fine!"

"I'm afraid my masters orders are final," Claude said, "Look, I know all all about your contract with Michaelis. You wear an eyepatch over your eye because that is where he's placed his seal."

Ciel's eyes widened in shock, "How do you know about that? "

"Because I know Michaelis. And if your eye is irritated, that means somethings wrong, very long."

Ciel frowned with concern. Something was wrong with Sebastian? No, that would be silly. Sebastian was an unstoppable force that had battled through everything and had survived injuries that possibly would have killed him had he been a normal human. During those times, he hadn't felt the slightest thing wrong with their contract. So if this was happening . . . then there had to be something wrong with Sebastian. Something very wrong.

Claude removed Ciel's eyepatch and recoiled in shock.

"It's . . . fading!"

"What?" Ciel rushed to a mirror and gazed in into it. The Trancy Butler hadn't lied. The seal was fading. The soft purple color the contract normally was seemed to be less prominent and at least an eighth of it was missing completely.

"What is this?" The Earl asked himself.

Claude looked on silently. He momentarily stepped out of the room and called for Hannah to come to him.

The maid was instantly put off by a rather annoyed look on Claude's face, "What's wrong?"

"Find Michaelis and inform me of his condition," the Trancy butler ordered.

"What?"

"The seal he's placed on Ciel is fading. This can only mean one of two things; either he's voiding the contract, or he's dying. If that demon is dying – as much as it sickens me to say it - we need to save him. We already have Ciel Phantomhive here, but without Sebastian our master's contract will be left unfulfilled. Find him, Hannah!"

Hannah nodded and slipped out of the manor. She didn't know what sort of condition she would find Sebastian in, if she found him at all. She could only hope for the best, although deep down she knew that Sebastian wasn't voiding the contract. Something was wrong with him. Something bad.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The irritation Ciel felt in his eye didn't subside. If anything, it remained consistent throughout the day all the way until he'd been allowed to go to bed. He tried to keep himself from rubbing at it, not wanting to make things worse by making it red or by being driven to gouge the eye out. It was just that maddening!

Eventually, sleep took the irritation away. He was exhausted.

"What the hell are you doing, Sebastian?" Ciel wondered.

That night was no different than the countless others Ciel had faced. He still had the nightmares that made him enveloped himself and his covers, and he still had that the dream about Sebastian standing at his bedside and attacking him.

"Maybe he's plotting to kill me . . ." He thought to himself, "Maybe getting rid of the contract is part of that plan."

There was always one part of this that Ciel had never thought about. As his butler, Sebastian was often regarded as property he owned and could use however he wished, but that didn't mean that Sebastian was weak. In fact, the demon was just as much of a contractor as he was. Sure, Sebastian was his servant, but at any time, for any reason, he could decide to void it completely.

Ciel sat up in bed and made for the closet. In one of his overcoats, he still kept the angel feather and the burnt piece of carpeting. As he looked them over, he couldn't help but remember what he told Sebastian the other day.

"I can't stand to see your face anymore. Leave! That's an order!"

Had that been enough to push Sebastian into voiding the contract?

Moving to a mirror, Ciel looked at the seal again. It had hardly changed since he last looked at it. It relieved him in some ways. It meant that their contract was still there and in effect. In other ways, it disturbed him. The irritation and the fading meant that their contract was getting weaker. If the contract wasn't being voided, then that meant that there could possibly be something wrong with Sebastian.

The sound of his bedroom door opening caught his attention. Claude walked in with a lit candle in his hand.

"Oh, you're awake," he said quietly, "Did the irritation in your eye wake you?"

Ciel shook his head, "No, I just had a bad dream, is all. "

Claude nodded, but not exactly with understanding; more like acknowledgment.

"I came here because I need to tell you something. I don't think the change in your seal is caused by him voiding the contract. Had it been that, your seal would have been long gone and it would have vanished in a unbearable burst of pain. This can only mean that there's something wrong with him – physically or mentally – that is causing a disconnection in your contract. Because your eye is only irritated, this only means that the process he's going through is incredibly slow."

Ciel was silent as he carefully thought over the Trancy butler's words.

"Do you have any idea how this might have come about?" Claude asked.

"Actually, I do," Ciel replied, "An argument broke out between us. Well, I don't think you could call it an argument. It was more of just me yelling at him and he listened. I ordered him out of my sights, and that was that."

Claude give him another acknowledging nod, "I see."

"May I ask, exactly how do any of us plan on finding Sebastian? He could have gone anywhere."

"If you know anything about us demons, you'd know we're excellent trackers. Don't worry, our maid Hannah is looking for him to report on his condition, as we speak."

* * *

The moment Hannah was pushed out of the mansion, she was instantly lost. She had no clue as to where Sebastian was or where he could have gone. The Phantomhive butler's scent was all over Ciel, but there were no trails she could follow to track him down.

She thought hard. Where would Sebastian go to be alone if he were dismissed from a contract? Hell? Not likely. No demon really ever wanted to go to Hell unless it was important. She thought over the current circumstances. This contract was fading ; dying . . .

Dying

Where would Sebastian go if he was dying? Someplace private; isolated, so he could at least die in peace. Where was private? Forests. Forests were private. What forest would Sebastian choose to die in? Someplace far from the Phantomhive Manor and far from civilization. Someplace he felt rooted to. Someplace where he was comfortable. Where was that?

She knew of a forest that had been burned down months ago that she felt pity for; most demons had. It was no ordinary forest. The trees had been several centuries old and no hunters dared to disturb the wildlife on its sacred grounds. Any demon would choose to die there, where their body could remain undisturbed for years and years until moss made their bones a part of the land. That is where Sebastian would most likely be, and that would be where her search started.

An hour at a neck breaking run eventually brought her to said forest; however, it was not in the condition she expected it to be in.

Young trees with bright green leaves were growing from the ash-stained dirt, along with fresh new grass and the sprouts of ferns, thornbushes, and brambles. Birds were exploring the young trees and squirrels were already hard at work burying nuts. Butterflies in a bright assortment of colors were fluttering about, as if they were exploring the new life that now grew here.

"What is going on here?" Hannah asked herself.

The demoness searched the still-growing forest for signs of Sebastian. It didn't take long before she finally picked up his scent. It was only six hours old and it was only growing stronger the more she started to follow it.

Her searching did eventually lead her to the heart of the forest where she found the raven demon.

Sebastian was lying in the center of his contract seal, which was still burned into the ground, but now had tiny blades of grass growing within it. Sebastian looked as though he were asleep; positioned on his side facing her with his eyes closed.

"Michaelis," Hannah called to him, "Michaelis, are you all right?"

Sebastian's eyes fluttered open and he lifted his head to look at her. It was then that she noticed how bad the raven demon looked. His eyes were slightly sunken in and his hair was messy. He looked sick and bitterly exhausted. He only made eye contact with her for a couple of moments before he wrinkled his nose and summoned the strength to roll over onto his other side with a moan, facing away from her.

"Michaelis, no!" Hannah made an attempt to enter the contract seal the raven demon was lying in, but was instantly kept from doing so by a strong force pushing her back.

A force field. She should have expected this. Sebastian was a demon with tunnel vision and a one-track mind. Once he had a goal, he was only focused on that goal. It became clear to Hannah that it was Sebastian's intention to die. It had been planned; a private affair between him and Satan. But that also meant there was a way to reverse the enchantment.

"Michaelis," Hannah called again, "You have to tell me how to reverse the enchantment. How do you reverse it?"

No response.

"Michaelis, tell me! How do you reverse the enchantment?"

No response.

"_**Michaelis!**_"

_Slap!_

Out of nowhere, the twig of a young tree came alive and smacked her across the face. It dawned on Hannah that this forest was being resurrected by the life-force and soul of a demon, not only making it a sacred forest, but an enchanted one, as well.

Looking around, it seemed as though the trees were prepared to fight her; their branches whipping back-and-forth and side to side. The grass growing around Sebastian's form appeared to be comforting him; hugging him and curling around his digits and limbs.

When Hannah thought about it, it was possible for Sebastian to have consumed as many souls in his lifetime as there were blades of grass in this forest, as well as trees and brush. That gave every organism here a soul and a life, and some of them had been a part of Sebastian for so long that they had found no other option than to bond and align themselves with him. And that meant they would fight to protect him in his time of death.

Hannah forced herself to walk away. But now she knew where Sebastian was and what was happening to him.

"Claude is not going to like this."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Weakness. A sensation that Sebastian was not familiar with. He was more accustomed to dealing with his limited strength and struggling to avoid breaking things. Now even lifting his limbs and turning his head was difficult. After turning himself over to tune out Hannah, his energy to do much more was gone, but after she had left he found that it wasn't so bad. This was the most peace he had seen in a long time.

How Hannah had managed to find him was still unknown to the raven demon. She was affiliated with that spider demon, Claude Faustus. Did they want something from him? Likely not. Claude might not have liked him, but he wouldn't go out of his way to track him down for no reason.

The more his life began to flow out of him, the thicker the grass around him grew, the bigger the trees got, and the more life began to appear around him. Souls even took the form of animals. Blue, red, purple butterflies – insects of unusual and unnatural colors - fluttered about. Black wolves would trot passed him, acknowledging his presents with a brief sniff before moving along. Deer with pure White fur came and went, occasionally stopping beside him as if to comfort him.

There were prominent differences between animals that had come from elsewhere and animals that had taken form from the countless souls he had consumed. Whether it was an unusual type of fur or an unnatural color, the difference is always very prominent. And they were comforting. Most would expect souls that had been consumed by demon to use their first window of opportunity to escape wisely; going far away and never to return to that horrible fate. But these souls had been with him throughout his long and idle life, and that was a period so long that the demon was now the only thing they knew.

'_Hush_'

A breeze stirred the air, and the fake can't appease of the trees began to rattle their Chris, green leaves. Sebastian listened in silence until he felt his eyes slowly drift closed.

* * *

"What do you mean, Sebastian's dying?"

Claude sat at his desk with his hands folded in front of him as Hannah broke the news on what she had found.

"It appears to be some sort of enchantment," the maid explained, "It's slowly draining his life-force, and that life force is being directed into the forest around him."

Claude was silent. This didn't mean bad news just for Ciel. It was bad for his own contract with Alois. His master had deemed that death was too good for that demon and he wanted Sebastian face a fate that was worse than death.

"Then this is a problem," he said, "We need to find a way to reverse the enchantment, because if Michaelis dies, our master will have our heads."

Hannah frowned, "Claude, exactly how are we expected to reverse the enchantment? Michaelis could've said it to be any number of things."

Claude rose from his desk, "I'll get to the bottom of this. The only way to find the reversal is to go to the deal that spawned the enchantment."

"Meaning, you're going to Satan."

"Yes."

"I'll go, too,"

"No, Hannah. I need you to stay here and take care of the young master and our guest. I can handle Satan by myself."

"And what if Satan won't reveal what reverses the enchantment? What then?"

Claude shot her and unreadable look.

"Then we might as well come right out to Alois and say the contract can't be completed, and tell Ciel he's no longer in a contract. Because Sebastian is going to die in a short amount of time, if he isn't dead yet. There will be no saving Sebastian if we can't find a way to reverse that enchantment."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Ciel felt as though he had jinxed himself when he thought the irritation in his eye wouldn't get much worse, because 18 hours after it had started, the mild irritation had gone from a slight itchiness to a mild stinging sensation. What was worse was the fact that there was nothing he or anyone else could do to make it stop. The seal on his eye was now just a colorless outline and a quarter of it could no longer be seen. The blue color of his eye stood out more than the seal did!

The stress of the situation made Ciel want to call Sebastian back, to order him to tell him what was happening, and to make the butler solve the problem and stop it. There was a problem though; the contract wasn't functioning. At least, not properly. He tried ordering Sebastian back several times, but nothing would happen. He could not sense whether or not the demon heard him, which ultimately made him wonder if Sebastian was sick, dead, or dying.

When Claude left the mansion in the middle of the night and had left a message with Hannah saying he wouldn't be back for number of hours, Ciel knew it had something to do with Sebastian. Maybe he was going to try to reason with him, maybe he was going to make sure he was alright, or maybe he was off to run an errand, but he'd always send Sebastian to do.

Ciel would try to take his mind off of the situation by participating in leisure activities. Sometimes he and Alois would lock themselves in the drawing room, playing board games. Sometimes they'd compete and see who could build the biggest house of cards, or who could get the most bull's-eyes playing darts. Sometimes, Alois would get bored and thow a dart or two at Hannah; why the blonde bore a grudge against the maid, Ciel didn't know. And sometimes, they would intentionally throw the darts at one or more of the triplets. Between these activities, they would sip tea, take meals, and Ciel would stop to rub his eye, even though he had learned by now that rubbing his eye did nothing to help him.

"Ciel?" Alois asked him that afternoon, "What do you think is wrong with your eye?"

Ciel sighed, "I'm not exactly sure, but I think it means Sebastian's in trouble."

"Isn't he supposed to be just as capable as Claude? What makes you think he's in trouble?"

Ciel would never admit to this strange boy. Somehow from within, Ciel could sense that Sebastian was weak and growing weaker, and that the weaker the demon got the more his eye became irritated and the more to seal would fade. He was able to piece together by now that Alois and Claude were under the same sort of contract, but he didn't know much more than that.

"It's just that this isn't like Sebastian," he said, "No matter how ticked he can get at me, he usually comes crawling back when I tell him to. For him not to respond to me in almost the day is strange."

Alois hummed, "He could just be ignoring your orders."

"And why would he do a thing like that? What more does he have to do that's taking his attention away from serving me? It doesn't add up. There has to be something wrong with him."

* * *

Claude and Sebastian were two completely different demons, especially when speaking in terms of how they treated their superiors. Whereas Sebastian would throw himself at Satan's feet and grovel, Claude would stand tall, refusing to bow or to throw himself into the powerful demon's good graces. Sebastian was the type to be flexible and alter his plans, wants, and needs accordingly to whatever Satan might want from him as well. Claude was apathetic and prideful, a glutton, and full of greed. He wasn't willing to alter any plot he had already developed, and no amount of threats or punishment was able to persuade him, otherwise.

All of this was why Satan greatly favored Sebastian, and why he greatly disliked Claude. So when the spider demon came to him wanting information about the raven demon, all could sense his reluctance to help him.

"Terribly sorry, but I can't help you," Satan told him waving him off, "You still have a contract to fulfill. Get back to work!"

"Michaelis still has a contract to fulfill. I never see you kick his arse back to work."

"Michaelis's circumstances are different from yours, Spider."

"How so? Tell me."

"That is strictly classified information between me and Michaelis, only. Leave my sights, and I won't pluck out your eyes and use them as golf balls."

Claude began pestering the elder demon like one would expect a child to do to an adult.

"Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, now!"

"_**Guards!**_"

Claude let out and annoyed huff, "Look, I'm not asking for much. All I want are the details of the damn enchantment that was placed on Michaelis and the reversal spell with it."

"What part of 'strictly classified information' do you not understand?"

"If Michaelis is life is on is depending on it . . ."

Satan grabbed Claude by his lower jaw and yanked him forward roughly.

"All I can and will tell you is that Michaelis knew perfectly well what he was doing when he activated the enchantment. There will be no way for you to stop it. I think it would be better – for you, for me, for Michaelis, and for everyone else – if you just went back to your master and forgot about it."

Claude tore himself from the powerful demon's grip.

"Sorry, but I can't do that. Michaelis's master is in distress at the moment. Because the seal engraved in his eye is fading, it's causing him extreme irritation. If we do nothing, the deterioration of the seal will eventually lead to extreme pain before it vanishes completely."

"Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do. The only way to reverse the enchantment is through the reversal, and that is information that I cannot and will not give to you. Sorry, but you're just going to have to figure that out by yourselves."

Claude crossed his arms, "You speak as if there is more than one of me."

Satan smirked, "Don't play dumb. I know you had that demoness track down Michaelis to see what was wrong. That's why you have as much information as you do." The elder demon rubbed his chin as he pondered a thought, "You want to know something?"

"What?"

"When you die, I'd like to have your skull to use as a mug , and your jaw will make an excellent ashtray."

Claude made a noise of annoyance before walking away.

"If you care to take a dare, I'll make a bet with you, Faustus," Satan called to him, "I'll bet you won't find the reversal in time to stop the enchantment, if at all. What do you say? If you win, you get to name your price. If I win, I get that pretty head of yours."

Claude turned to him; his expressions as blank as ever.

"Don't you know anything? I don't make bets I know I won't win."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Checkmate! I win again, Ciel!"

Ciel had stopped trying to beat Alois in chess, or any game for that matter. The irritation in his eye was persistent, and it made playing games less fun. All he wanted now was for the irritation to stop, no matter what exactly that meant for Sebastian.

"I don't want to play anymore," Ciel said in a stale tone.

"Are you jealous because I'm able to beat you?"

"No, I'm just tired. We've been at this all day."

Alois leaned back in his chair, "True. Come to think of it, I wonder where Claude is. I haven't seen him all day. He should've been back from running his errands by now."

Ciel knew how that felt. There were numerous times where he had to wait up on Sebastian for something; normally for him to stop petting some stray cat on the side of the street. But Claude wasn't Sebastian. What was keeping him so long?

"If you're tired, I'll let you rest in your room, if you'd like." Alois suggested.

"Really? You won't be bored?"

"Nah, I have some paperwork I have to finish in my study anyways."

Ciel nodded and walked towards his room, although in his mind he secretly wished Sebastian was here to pick him up and carry him.

Meanwhile, Alois was taking his frustration out on Hannah. Again.

"I know you know something about this," he snarled, "I order you to tell me, now! Tell me exactly what's wrong with Sebastian, right now, or I'll have to punish you!"

Hannah frowned and looked to the floor, "You aren't going to like hearing what I have to say."

"I don't care! I gave you an order! Tell me, now!"

Hannah let out a sigh, "The pain in Earl Phantomhive's eye is being caused by the fading of his contract with Sebastian Michaelis. The deterioration of the contract is being caused by an enchantment that is slowly draining the life force from his body. To put it simply, Sebastian is dying. That's why Claude has gone out, to obtain information about how to reverse the enchantment before it's too late."

_Smack!_

Hannah had seen that one coming. She learned a long time ago to anticipate times during the day when she would be slapped; whether it was with a hand, a boot, a book, or a walking stick. She now only saw the abuse as another part of her life as a maid.

Just then, Claude stepped in through the door to Alois's study.

The young blonde instantly turned to him.

"Is it true Claude? Is Sebastian dying?"

Claude's brow raised slightly in surprise. He was more accustomed to Alois acknowledging his presence with a bright smile and clinging to his side. Here, he was glaring at him, but there was something else too. Fear. The boy was also afraid.

"Unfortunately, yes," Claude confirmed, "At this rate, I'm pretty sure he'll be dead by sunrise tomorrow."

_Splash!_

Claude had learned not to care about the punishments Alois dealt him when he didn't get his way. Having tea thrown in his face was probably one of the least brutal punishments his master bothered to follow through with. He'd been doused in holy water before and it had felt like he had a god-awful sunburn for a week afterward. Tea only stained his clothes. He could clean them or buy new ones. It was no big deal.

Claude cleaned the beverage off of his face and glasses with a cloth.

"Hannah said something about the enchantment being able to be reversed," Alois piped up, "You do know how to reverse it, don't you?"

The Trancy butler shook his head, "I was denied answers to pretty much all of my questions. Unfortunately, Lord Satan and I are not on good terms, so he refused to tell me anything useful."

Alois crossed his arms, "Well, what did he tell you?"

"He told me that Sebastian knew perfectly well what he was doing when he activated the enchantment, that there would be no way for me to stop it, and that it would be better if I returned here and forgot about it."

The blonde scoffed, "So that stupid demon is all goody-goody with the king of all demons?"

"So it would seem."

Alois put his head down on his desk and groaned loudly in irritation, "You know what this means, don't you?"

"It means that if Sebastian dies, then there will be no way for you to obtain your revenge. I know, sir."

Alois lifted his head from his desk, "Does Ciel know anything about this?"

"I've only dropped subtle hints that something was wrong with Sebastian. I haven't come out and told him of Sebastian's condition."

* * *

"Sebastian's what?"

Rather than having his butler break the news, Alois took it upon himself to talk to Ciel for him.

"He's dying, or so Claude tells me," the blonde explained, "it's what's causing the deterioration of your contract; why your seal is fading."

Ciel lost himself in his thoughts.

Sebastian was dying? How was that even possible? Sebastian – a man that hadn't been stopped by bullets, knives, swords, moving vehicles, Grim Reapers, or angels – was dying. Some part of Ciel seemed to know that that's what was happening all along, but he'd never been able to come out with the thought completely, because it seemed to be absurd. Sebastian couldn't be bested buy anything before, and now he was slowly dying from an enchantment he activated himself.

Ciel had to wonder if his scolding had gone too far when he had ordered Sebastian away. He had ordered him to leave, because he couldn't stand seeing him. He hadn't ordered him to kill himself.

'Go crawl into a hole and die, for all I care.'

That's when Ciel slapped himself. He had given that order unknowingly! He should've realized this sooner. Sebastian took sarcastic statements like that as orders, too. He had learned this many moons ago when he had entered a curry competition, and Sebastian wound up putting chocolate in it.

"There has to be something I can do," Ciel finally said.

"What is it?" Alois asked.

"You're maid said she was able to locate Sebastian, right?"

"Yeah."

Ciel stood.

"Good. Have your servants prepare a carriage and take me to him! I want to see his condition for myself."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The horses of the Trancy family were trained to be fast. So fast, in fact, that only the servants had the strength to control them. Claude had a pair of them galloping at full speed, following the directions Hannah had given. Ciel, Alois, and Hannah sat inside the carriage while the triplets clung onto the outside of it, keeping it upright and correcting its course whenever the horses took a sharp turn.

It was early evening and the sun was just starting to set, but it felt more as though it were nighttime as they traveled through the forest.

Ciel was trying to keep himself stable inside the carriage is it rocked and shook, while at the same time he clutched and rubbed at his eye. The stinging sensation had escalated into a hot burning one, as if freshly made soup was being dumped in it. Not only that, but an uncomfortable pulsing sensation accompanied the burning, making it feel as though the eye wanted to jump out from the socket.

Alois did his best to comfort him, to no avail. Hannah could only watch in pity. The maid stood up and knocked on the roof of the carriage twice, signaling Claude to go faster. Sure enough, there was a loud snap, the horses screamed, and the carriage launched forward as they were forced to move faster.

They were running out of time, and they knew it.

* * *

Sebastian hadn't changed positions since he had turned onto his side the night before. He felt as though he were in a daze; drifting in and out of where he was. Aware and unaware of himself and what was going on around him at the same time. Feeling as though he still had a spark of life and him and as though he were already long gone, as well.

He felt cold, and he didn't even have the strength to draw up his arms and legs to trap whatever body heat was left. He could only let his head sink into the soft green grass that grew in a thick patch below his head. The wildlife around him was now a living, breathing spectacle of the finest beauty and enchantment whose purpose right now was to provide peace and comfort to the dying demon.

Small branches in the trees' canopies parted to allow a bit of light from the setting sun beat down on Sebastian's weakening form, bringing some warmth to him as the blackness of his tailcoat ate up what it could. The brambles thickened in an attempt to create a wall to block the cool breeze and keep it from reaching him. Blades of grass curled around his fingers, as if they were taking turns clutching his hand to comfort him one last time.

Sebastian's eyelids fluttered, losing their battle to stay open, until at last the demon found that peace all who are dying seek.

With a hushed sigh, he uttered his last words:

"Thank you."

* * *

"Ciel!"

Alois and Hannah were holding on tightly to the Phantomhive earl. For a whole minute, the boy had been clutching his eye, screaming as a white-hot pain plunged deep into it; poking, digging, and gouging it until it suddenly stopped. The pain, the irritation, all of it seem to vanish instantly.

"What was that?" Alois asked, letting go of Ciel's arm.

"I . . . I'm not sure," Ciel replied, trying to regain his composure .

"Hannah?"

The blonde quickly looked over to the maid, who sat there with a concerned look on her face.

"Lord Phantomhive, please take off your eyepatch."

Ciel nodded and slipped the bit of fabric covering his eye off and put it on the seat beside him.

Hannah had to refrain from recoiling in shock.

The seal was gone.

Even Alois carried a very grim expression as he looked at Ciel's eye; completely blue without the slightest trace of the seal to be seen.

Without a word, Hannah slipped out of the carriage, and crept up to the drivers chair with Claude. The butler was easily able to read her expressions. He whipped the horses to push them even faster

"Claude . . ." Hannah tried to reason, "It won't make a difference."

Claude shook his head.

"I don't believe that. Not until I see it for myself. There might be time."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

When Hannah had last gone into the forest to find Sebastian, the point were ordinary forest ended and where the burned-down forest began had been very prominent. The same could be said about the forest now, but not quite in the same way.

The point were ordinary forest ended and where the burned-down forest began was marked by grass that was greener and thicker than that of the other forest. The trees grew higher with thicker canopies. Ferns with blue and red hues to them obviously weren't ordinarily found in any other place.

It was here that Hannah instructed Claude to stop. Even the spider demon looked around in wonder at what this once languished forest had now become. Ciel and Alois found themselves enthralled in the same sort of wonder.

"How did all this come about?" Ciel asked.

"Every living thing here is a soul Sebastian has once consumed," Hannah explained, "Every blade of grass, every plant, tree, and animal is something that's been with him his entire life; ever since he swallowed them."

There were various trails that snaked through the forest, all of which seem to come from a single starting point from within.

As they ventured deeper into the forest, the evidence that everything was once a soul became more and more prominent. The bark on the trees had outlines of people on them; wise women, gentle men, and sleeping infants. In the trees sat ravens with pure white feathers, pale pink beaks and claws, and silvery eyes. Bees that were all yellow – with little to no black on them, pollinated flowers with a black, purple, blue, and red petals.

"I've never seen anything like this before," Alois commented in a hushed tone, "what were to happen if I crushed that bee right there?"

"Likely, the forest would attack you," Claude replied, "you have to remember that everything here was once a living human. Some might have been with Sebastian long enough to have developed a certain amount of loyalty to him."

"You mean once a demon consumes a soul it isn't completely digested?" Ciel asked.

"Not completely, no. While a majority of any soul we eat is absorbed into our bodies, the part of the soul that still pulses with life and contains humanity is preserved. It's how some of us are able to behave like humans. We may not understand emotions, aside from anger, hate, disappointment, delight, and depression, but the souls help us understand how we can blend in with humans."

A shape moving in front of them made them stop. A large wolf with jet black fur and purple eyes stalked towards them, its ears prick forward and alert.

"Nobody move!" Claude warned.

"Why?" Alois inquired, "it's just a dog."

"It's a Blackened–Soul wolf. I'm not sure if it's here just wondering about or if it's here to run us out."

The wolf stopped a few yards in front of them. It stood there and panted for a moment before disappearing into the brush. It was obviously was not there to hurt them.

The group continued on, admiring the strange beauty around them. Unusually colored butterflies and odd looking birds. Reptiles with two heads and red and black foxes with multiple tails.

Another shape appeared in front of them, a white fawn with barely-visible gray spots. The tiny creature approach them on wobbly legs, sticking out its neck as it curiously took in their scent; more specifically, Ciel's. When it was mere inches from the young earl, it stopped and pranced in place a couple of times before bounding away into the brush.

"All of these animals here are really weird, " Alois commented, "after we find Sebastian, can we go back to the mansion and have some tea?"

"Yes, sir," Claude replied, "but not until we know what kind of shape Sebastian's in."

Ciel reached up and brushed at the eye that once bore the contract seal.

"Is something wrong, Ciel?" Alois asked, "is your eye hurting again?"

"N–no," Ciel replied, "It's just. Why do I have this feeling that it's already too late?"

Alois rested a hand on his shoulder and gave him a kind smile, "Don't think like that. I'm sure he's fine."

Suddenly, Hannah call to them from a ways ahead, "Earl . . . You might want to see this."

Ciel ran ahead of Claude and Alois and to the maid's side. She stood at a wall of bushes and pointed over them to a dark shape lying on the ground. The shape was lying in the center of a massive image of Sebastian's contract symbol; this image clearly displayed by light green grass that stood out from the darker green grass surrounding it. Ciel's eyes widened as he made out a tailcoat, white servant's gloves, and midnight black hair.

"Sebastian!"

The boy rushed out into the clearing and threw himself at the butler's side. Turning him over onto his back, he straddled the man's torso. Placing his hands on his shoulders, he shook him gently.

"Sebastian?" He panted, "Sebastian, wake up."

Ciel shook him again.

"Come on, stop playing around. You don't have to act pissed anymore. I have all the answers I need now; who cares that you tried to hide them? Just wake up, and we can forget it ever happened."

There was no response.

Ciel shook him again, "Sebastian?"

The earl slammed a fist hard against one of the butler's shoulders.

"Sebastian, please wake up. Sebastian?"

Frantic, Ciel pressed his ear against Sebastian's chest. Even during the times when the butler faked his death, he could always sense a heart beating somewhere in his chest. Now, there was nothing, and when he thought about all the blows he had dealt him, Ciel realized that the demon was becoming stiff with rigor mortis too.

"No . . ." He said in a hushed tone, "You can't be . . ." His voice shook as he hit him again, "Sebastian . . . I order you to get up this instant!"

Once again, there was no response.

Ciel shook his head with denial, "No! That was an order! Stop ignoring me now, Sebastian!"

Claude, Hannah, and Alois watched in silence at the earl's failed attempts to revive the demon. Alois's fists were clenched and he shook his head with about as much denial as Ciel showed.

"It's no use. He's gone!"

Claude clenched his fists, as well. So much that his nails dug through his gloves, into his palms, and drew blood.

"We're too late."

Hannah watched silently, trying to keep tears from pulling into her eyes. Becoming a maid had turned her into a soft demoness at heart, and any death she didn't cause now touched her. She dared to approach Ciel, who still screamed at Sebastian to wake him up.

When he threw another fist back to land another blow, Hannah snatched him by his wrist.

"Earl . . . You need to calm down."

Ciel turned to her with wide eyes.

"You have to understand," she continued, "the moment the pain in your eye became so unbearable that you were screaming was when Sebastian's heart was beginning to stop. It was already too late then."

Ciel lowered his hand slowly, "But . . . That means he's . . ."

Hannah nodded sadly as a tear rolled down her cheek, "He's gone, Lord Phantomhive."

Ciel looked from her to Sebastian.

"But . . . He's _always _been there for me . . ."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

***Flashback***

_"You want me to do what?"_

_Sebastian had only been a butler for a week, and he was still learning how to live life as a servant instead of his previous life as a free-to-roam demon. Meeting the demands of a 10-year-old master was difficult, he had to admit, but it was nothing he couldn't handle._

_This, though. This was quite unusual._

_"Sing me something," Ciel was currently crushing the demon's torso. He'd been thrashing in his sleep because of a nightmare; his fifth one this week. It had taken a whole minute for Sebastian to wake him up, and he'd nearly been kicked in the jaw when he finally did._

_"Sing you something?" The demon inquired. He had never known his master for being one for lullabies, even for a 10-year-old boy._

_"That is," Ciel said, "if you can sing without bringing on an apocalypse."_

_Sebastian was silent._

_ "What song do you remember being sung to you when you were younger?" The boy piped up._

_Sebastian sighed, "well, to be honest, I was hardly ever sung to as a child."_

_ Ciel looked up at him with a pondering look._

_"Demon mothers aren't the most nurturing of sorts," he continued, "from birth, we're taught to put up with any trials and hardships and look upon them without complaint, because it would be all we ever knew." _

_"I suppose that is true," Ciel agreed._

_"However . . . I do recall one song. It was only ever sung to me once. How did it go?"_

_ Sebastian closed his eyes and scoured his memory. The expression on his face – a slight frown with brows drawn together – told Ciel he was trying his best to remember. Childhood might have been eons away from the demon. Who could remember anything that had happened that long ago, especially something as small as a song? _

_"Ah! I remember it now." He finally said._

_The demon cleared his throat and his song began. _

_"Every night,_

_I dream you're still here._

_The ghost by my side,_

_So perfectly clear._

_When I awake,_

_You'll disappear,_

_Back to the shadows,_

_With all I hold dear._

_ With all I hold dear,_

_I dream you're still here."_

_The song did calm Ciel down quite a bit._

_"Your mother sang that to you?"_

_Sebastian nodded, "That's about as much as I can remember from it."_

_"What happened that made you remember it?"_

_A smirk appeared on the demon's face._

_"That song was sung to me one of the many occasions when I nearly died. I was 24 years old."_

* * *

It was the only time Ciel had ever asked Sebastian to sing to him a lullaby, and he swore never again; especially after officially becoming the Earl of Phantomhive. He didn't want the demon to see him as another weak human he could possibly take advantage of.

Now, it was that one memory that he kept coming back to. As he sat there clutching Sebastian's shoulders, he tried to keep the reality of what happened from donning on him. To no avail. The heaviness and pain of grief began to weigh down his chest as he forced himself to let go. He sat in silence, thinking.

His mother, his father, a beloved pet, his pride, and now even his butler was gone. It left him with no one. Elizabeth, perhaps, but as a cousin and his fiancé – whom he was forced to marry – he didn't care much for her. All the people who truly mattered in his life were now dead, even the infallible Sebastian Michaelis.

"I'm sorry," Ciel uttered in a pained whisper, gripping onto Sebastian's tailcoat once more, "This is all my fault."

His own words made his heart sink. 'This is all my fault'; normally it was all Sebastian's fault, or all Prince Soma's fault. Nothing was ever _his_ fault. And it was that fact that broke him.

_Plip! Plip-plip!_

He wasn't even aware of the fact that he was crying until the sound of his tears hitting Sebastian's tailcoat fell on his ears. At that, he only cried harder until they fell steadily down his cheeks. Ciel bowed his head and gave into his grief.

Unknowingly, a tear strayed from the landing point of the butler's coat and disappeared into the soft green grass. The whole forest seem to go strangely silent before the contract symbol on the ground suddenly illuminated.

The sudden action caught Ciel off guard and he stumbled backwards.

Pulses of white light began shooting out steadily from the many paths that snaked through the forest. Birds turned their heads in confusion, insects swarmed in terror before suddenly crumbling to ash. Many herds of dear screamed, as if they were in pain, before they turned to ashes as well. The wolves howled and yelled, crumbling to dust before their joints had a chance to buckle. Flowers wilted until they were dry and fragile before breaking apart. The leaves on the trees turned colors rapidly before turning to a lifeless brown color and falling to the ground. The wood of the trees rotted quickly and they crumbled to pieces under their own weight. Even the lush green grass died, one blade at a time.

"What's happening?" Ciel asked, backing up.

"The forest is dying!" Hannah shuddered, "It's as if the life is being sucked right from it."

Claude pointed to Sebastian's lifeless form, "That's because it is."

The pulses of light they'd been seeing were indeed coming from the forest, and the life-force was being fed back into Sebastian's body through the image of the seal.

A white-hot pain suddenly shot through Ciel's eye, causing him to fall to his knees. Blood seeped out from behind his eyelids along with his freshly fallen tears. He knew this feeling all too well; the contract was reforming.

"It's the reversal to the enchantment!" Hannah gasped.

"I don't get it!" Alois squeaked, trying to avoid the chaos going on around him, "What did Ciel do?"

Ciel let out upon pondering hum, "Well, if I were Sebastian and were to set up a reversal to this enchantment, it would probably be one of two things; something involving a cat or something he thought I wasn't capable of. I have not allowed myself to grieve properly in a couple of years, so he probably thought I was incapable of shedding tears."

By the time Ciel had finished his explanation, it was all over. The seal had reappeared on his eye and the forest was reduced to nothing more than ashes, dust, and rotting wood. The image of the contract symbol that had been underneath Sebastian's body was still there; prominently burned into the ground.

Ciel ran back to his butler's side and straddled his torso once more.

"Sebastian? Sebastian, can you hear me?"

No response.

"Come on! Come on, please, wake up!"

A muscle in Sebastian's brow twitched and his nostrils flared. His jaw dropped as a small gasp escaped him, and then a cough, and then he drew a massive breath in, as if a blockage had just been cleared from his airway. His eyes rolled beneath his eyelids before they attempted to open.

"Sebastian?" Ciel called silently to him, "Sebastian, are you okay?"

A relatively stupid question, considering the fact that the demon had been lying in the once-thriving forest for almost a day, dying. But it was also the only thing Ciel could think to ask to test his butler to make sure he was still with them.

Sebastian's eyes eventually found the strength to open and settle on him. He had a blank expression on his face, as if he had no idea as to who Ciel was or what was happening. Ciel even thought for moment he had gone brain-dead on him, because he didn't say or do anything. He just stared; unblinking, unmoving.

"Sebastian?" Ciel inquired, "Can you hear me? Say something!"

Finally, a response.

"Master . . ."

Ciel couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, "You're okay!"

Sebastian tried to bring himself out of his dazed state slowly.

"Master . . . _Young_ master . . ."

To Ciel's confusion, Sebastian's nose wrinkled and his lips peeled back in a vicious snarl. Without warning, Ciel was momentarily airborne and landed hard on his rump as Sebastian vanished from underneath him. All he could hear was the sound of feet rapidly scampering away.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE 4-29-15**

**"**_To anyone who is wondering where the song came from, it's actually the chorus of the song 'Still Here' by the music group, Digital Daggers. I give all credit for that to this amazing group, i do not own the song or the band or anything. The chorus was just used for fanfiction purposes._**"**

**-BlueRaven666**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

So many questions rang in Ciel's head. Was Sebastian okay? Would he be okay? Did the demon still consider the contract valid? Did_ he _still consider the contract valid? Why did Sebastian run from him?

Alois help Ciel to his feet, "Was it something you said?"

Ciel shook his head, "I don't think so. I think it's something deeper than that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he looked very confused, even as he called me 'master'."

Claude approached him, "I believe I know what it is."

Ciel turned him, interest peeked.

"Even the souls of demons are sent places after they pass. Brought back from that place, they may respond with one of two reactions. They'll either show great gratitude, or they'll show utter confusion before throwing fits of anger or disappointment. It all really depends where the soul was sent after death."

"You mean like Heaven or Hell?"

"Not exactly. I don't know a single demon that knows anything of Heaven. They either go to Hell or they're free to roam a place that's completely peaceful; similar to Heaven, but one that knows no God."

A look of knowing crossed Ciel's face. It became obvious to him. Wherever Sebastian had been before the reversal had been activated, he had been happy there; resting in a peace he may had been wanting for the longest time. Did he now resent Ciel for it?

"I need to speak with him." Ciel stood and turned to Alois and his servants, "Can you take me back to my mansion?"

* * *

Ciel returned back to his mansion first thing the next morning. He'd refused to tea and breakfast and instantly had his luggage packed into a waiting carriage.

Alois didn't seem to be at all pleased to see Ciel leaving, though Ciel figured this much. The blond had clung close to his side ever since his arrival. To tear him away was like tearing a young child away from a toy, and that's what bothered Ciel and made him hurry out the door faster; not just for Sebastian's sake, but for his own as well.

"It is unfortunate that you couldn't stay longer," Claude said in a monotone voice.

"I did only need to get away for a short while," Ciel pointed out as he loaded himself into the carriage, "Tell Trancy to invite me to a ball, or something, if he wants to see me so bad."

Claude nodded as he left to the rest of Ciel's trip home to the triplets. Thompson shut the door and climbed into the back of the carriage with Timber while Canterbury grabbed to the reins and gave them a quick snap.

Alois and Claude stood in the driveway and watched them leave.

"This isn't fair!" Alois hissed, turning to his butler, "Ciel Phantomhive was supposed to stay mine! And that Sebastian . . . What kind of pathetic wretch kills himself over a stupid order? What a load of . . ."

Claude silenced him with a motion of his hand as he looked down at him. The glare of the rising sun could not hide the glare in his eyes.

"You know what, sir? Have you given me the exact same order, I probably would have done the same thing."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Ciel was welcomed home by the usual sight of Mey-rin, Finny, Bard, and Tanaka standing in the manor's front drive, smiling and waving at him. Much to Ciel's disappointment, however, Sebastian wasn't with them to help welcome him home and escort him inside. He'd be incredibly concerned if Sebastian didn't bother to return to the mansion. Would Sebastian go so far as to abandon the contract?

It was Tanaka, instead, who approached the carriage and opened the door, while the other servants were left to carry Ciel's things inside.

"Welcome home, young master," the elderly steward said with a bow, "I trust these fine young men got you home safely."

"They did," Ciel replied, stepping out of the carriage, "Has Sebastian returned, by any chance?"

"He did. He arrived back at the manor a few hours ago, but he hasn't been feeling very well."

Ciel nodded in understanding, "Where is he?"

"He's gone to his room to rest up a bit."

Ciel nodded again and made his way inside. He vowed, no matter what condition Sebastian was in presently, that he would settle things between him and the demon. Whatever grudge he still bore against him, whatever made him growl at him back in the forest, and whatever had happened between them a few days ago would all have to be settled, right now.

* * *

The servants' quarters were a foreign environment to Ciel. They were dark and gloomy, and it didn't help that Sebastian's room was located in the basement, near the wine cellar; the typical space where every butler was. And even so, Ciel didn't feel the least bit comfortable down here. Even he had never really gone downstairs to where the servants worked.

Even so, the butler's room was still easy to find; a very ordinary looking door ajar just passed the wine cellar making it very clear to him that someone had gone inside.

Ciel peered into the gap of the slightly open door. He could see that Sebastian's bed was empty and neatly made. No one sat in the chair that was at his writing desk. His view of the room without moving the door was cut off there. If Sebastian were somewhere inside, he'd gone somewhere else he didn't want to be seen.

Ciel took the liberty of knocking on the door, hoping for some sort of response. Technically speaking, he was the head of the house and could go wherever whenever he wanted inside his mansion, but . . . if Sebastian was in there and he was still upset, he at least wanted to allow him his privacy, if he asked for it.

This is not the case as Ciel received no response from anywhere within the room.

Ciel knocked again, "Sebastian? I'm coming in."

Ciel pushed the door open and entered his butler's room.

Instantly, he could see where Sebastian had been hiding. He was curled up in corner between his writing desk and a wardrobe. His head rested against the wall with his arms resting on his knees. He appeared to be asleep; uncomfortably so. Beads of sweat covered his face, which had a slightly strained look to it, as if he were fighting through some sort of mild pain. He didn't even seem to acknowledge the fact Ciel was there.

The earl approached Sebastian slowly, "Sebastian, are you all right?"

Sebastian didn't respond. The only comfort Ciel had in that was the fact that Sebastian was still breathing.

Ciel wasn't sure of what he should do. Should he leave and come back later? What if Sebastian chose to leave again in that span of time? Should he stay with him? It wasn't exactly becoming of an earl to stay by a sickly servant's side, but how often did propriety apply to him?

With a small sigh, he sat down beside Sebastian and chose to wait. To pass the time, he thought about what had happened over the past couple of days. When he thought about the enchantment Sebastian had activated back in the woods, he couldn't help but think of what it might have taken to do it. The demon had to face Satan to achieve it, first and foremost, which must have taken a large amount of courage. To Ciel, it would have been like if he had gone to the Queen and said, "Yes, I have nothing left I need to accomplish. I'd like to kill myself."

He shuddered at the thought.

Now that Ciel had begun to think about it, nothing he had done over the course of these past few days made sense. He had sent Sebastian away in a fit of rage for simply hiding information from him ; information he'd probably have told him sooner or later anyways. Why did he bother to listen to Angela? Why did he let the things she said get to him? Sebastian was ordered not to lie, and he hadn't lied.

Then there was the fact that he allowed himself to be taken care of by someone other than his own servants; Claude, Hannah, and the triplets. They were an unusual bunch, more so than his own servants. But then all he could think was that they were an unusual bunch for the unusual boy called Alois. Really, the only people he needed to take care of him were his own servants, not someone else's.

"I'm alright, sir."

The sudden voice came from Sebastian, who shifted slightly beside him. His voice sounded groggy and the weak; not much different from when they were back in the forest. Not only that, it was pained.

"Sebastian, what's the matter?" Ciel asked, "You sound like you're in an awful amount of pain."

Sebastian let out a small sigh, "My internal organs are trying to function. The only organs that are working properly at the moment are my heart, lungs, and brain."

"And . . . everything else?"

Sebastian shrugged, "It might take a few days, but they'll come back, eventually."

Ciel couldn't help but think how painful it must be to endure something like that; to wait, completely conscious and aware, for every organ to come back to life and start to function properly again.

"I'm sorry."

Sebastian lifted his head, but he didn't he did not look at Ciel, rather he just stared into space, "I beg your pardon?"

"I'm sorry . . . I'm sorry for the way I treated you."

"You're forgiven."

Ciel shot him a confused look, "What do you mean? I snap at you, I force you away, you kill yourself because of me, I activate the reversal and bring you back, and in the end you're just going to tell me 'You're forgiven' and move on?"

Sebastian smirked, "Yes."

"Why?"

The butler finally turned to him, "Because . . . at the end of the day, no matter what, I'm still your butler."

The confusion on Ciel's face only grew, "What?"

"Wasn't it you who said that I didn't have to act pissed anymore? Was it not you who said you had all the answers you need it now? And I'm almost positive I heard you say that you didn't care if I tried to hide them and that we could forget that our little disagreement never happened."

Ciel scoffed, "So you could hear me."

"Every word."

Ciel crossed his arms, "Then why did you run away from me? Why did you snarl at me like some kind of pissed off beast ."

"Wouldn't you be upset too if you woke up to someone you recently fought with straddling your body like a succubus? I thought you might have been someone else, then I was still fairly unhappy with you, and then I came here and got over it."

Sebastian let out a sigh as he shifted back into his previous state of being curled up against the wall. It was almost as if speaking alone was exhausting him.

"Can I ask you something?" Ciel piped up.

"Of course, sir."

"What was it like, after you died? What kind of place was it?"

A look of bliss crossed the demon's face as he replied.

"Nice. It was very nice, and peaceful."

"Where were you?"

"I was asleep, wrapped in my mother's arms. And she was singing that song."

"The song you sang to me all those years ago?"

"Yes. If I could have named but one thing I've been wanting to remember all my life, it was that god-forsaken song."

Ciel looked at him, "Do you think you could sing it?"

Sebastian chuckled, "some other time, perhaps. I'm too tired right now."

Ciel couldn't help but laugh.

"Then get some sleep, you idiot. We can discuss this tomorrow."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Sebastian slept for a total of three days and three nights as his organs healed and began to function again. No one could exactly say Ciel had stooped to pampering his butler, but he did remain genuinely concerned about him and he would check to make sure he was okay every great once in a while. Most of the work of taking care of Sebastian was left to Tanaka, who had more than enough time at the end of every day to venture downstairs and update Ciel on his condition.

The stiffness of rigor mortis slowly came out of Sebastian in fits of snaps, crackles, and pops from his joints, limbs, and spine. How Sebastian had managed to travel back to the manor in such horrid condition was unknown. It must have been hard to move, as rig stiffened joints and muscles, and even in sleep Sebastian would toss and turn in discomfort as it slowly came out of his body with continual fits of cramps.

That third night was one Sebastian woke up. The majority of his strength was back, in fact if it weren't for the fact he was still somewhat groggy from sleeping for three days, he wouldn't have felt any different than he normally did. A splash of cold water did the trick, and he changed himself out of the white dress shirt, trousers, socks, and underwear he wore. He wasn't sure how old they were (or if anyone had bothered to change his clothes in the first place, and even so he didn't want to know) but the prominent winkles in his clothing did tell him he's been in them for quite some time.

He pulled a new tailcoat out of his wardrobe as well as trousers, underwear, socks, a white dress shirt, a tie, a vest, and even a fresh pair of white servants gloves. He picked up his pocket watch and checked the time. It was a little bit after 5 AM. Ciel was likely still sleeping.

"It's good to see you're finally awake, Mr. Sebastian."

Sebastian turned to the doorway, where Tanaka stood. The elder servant gave him a curt bow.

"I'm glad you were able to fill in for me while I was away," the butler said, "and again while I was sick."

"My pleasure, sir. How are you feeling? If you need another day off . . ."

"No, no, I'm perfectly all right."

Tanaka nodded, "I'll leave you to tend to your own business then."

Sebastian returned the nod and Tanaka left.

The butler spent a short amount of time simply making rounds about the manor; making sure most of the garden was salvageable, checking to see how much of the kitchen Bard had burned down, counting the number of tea sets that needed to be replaced, and seeing how much tea Tanaka had consumed and what needed to be restocked. He was pleased to find that Finny hadn't damaged very many flowers. The kitchen had only a few burns about the oven and stove; definitely not any sort of damage caused by the chefs flamethrower. There were only two tea sets that had been broken. Mey-Rin must have been very careful this time. And as for the tea . . . Well, most of it was gone. There was only a little bit of Earl Grey left and a type of tea that Sebastian gave when someone around the mansion was suffering from a sore throat.

Sebastian let out a sigh, "Looks like I'm going to be busy shopping tomorrow."

Suddenly, a voice piped up from behind him.

"Well, I'm surprised to see you're still alive."

The demon turned around and came face-to-face with the one person that he was loathing; the one who originally caused the mess that had occurred over the course of these past few days. Angela.

"I would have thought that the enchantment you activated would have struck you down by now."

Sebastian let out and irritated snort, "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but it would seem I'm here to stay."

Angela let out a hum, "Perhaps."

Before she could process it, Sebastian had her pinned against the wall by her throat, rage glinting in his eyes.

"I ought to shag the living saint out of you!"

"Temper, temper, Sebastian," the angel taunted, "Maybe you'll learn not to keep information from your master, next time."

"None of that is any of your goddamn business," Sebastian released his grip on her, "Besides, I thought I told you before that you aren't welcome here."

"I just wanted to see Pluto."

A pity it was when Sebastian told her the demon hound ran off days ago. Naturally, Angela didn't fall for it, but Sebastian's message was clear to her.

"Leave. You have no business here."

Angela glared at him and scoffed. "Filthy, vile, unclean vermin!"

"Tell me something I don't know already, you cross-kissing, holy-water-drinking, bible thumping pigeon."

"One day you'll see!"

Sebastian had heard enough. In undetected move, Angela was kicked through a wall and in the kitchen and sent flying out into the garden. It would create some unnecessary work for him later, but he didn't care about that, right now. Instead, he looked to Pluto, whom he could see sniffing around near a patch of roses.

"Pluto!" He called out, "Fetch!"

The demon hound lifted his head and galloped out of the rose patch, targeting Angela.

"No, Pluto, down!" The angel ordered.

Pluto didn't listen. He was caught up in the word "fetch" and was coming at her with jaws open and fire sprouting.

Sebastian only looked on in amusement as the white wolf chased the angel through the garden and eventually lost track of her as Angela took off into the air.

"Cheater!" Sebastian called to the fleeing angel, "He's your dog. Hey! You can have him back if you want!"

The demon knew he was back to his old self. His sarcasm had returned and his foolish games with those that were at his disposal were just as devious as they were before the mess that had occurred days ago. Some part of him hoped that pretty soon everyone would be able to go back to leading their normal lives and forget the day Ciel sent his butler away.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE 5-2-15

"I'm sorry, I had to do something evil to Angela. I'm sorry if this chapter seemed rushed or poorly written in anyway. Nearly done here. I think I'll write one more chapter to wrap things up, and believe me, it's going to be good!"

-BlueRaven666


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Ciel set alone in his study, lost in thought.

Finny had accidentally killed some flowerbeds in the garden. Mey-rin had tripped and broke another tea set. Bard had tried to cook a whole chicken with his flamethrower. Tanaka sat in a corner drinking tea. Above all, Sebastian was up on his feet fixing everything.

It was a very normal day in the Phantomhive manor, considering everything that had happened in a not-so-normal week.

There was a knock at his door; Sebastian coming with the afternoon tea.

"Come in," Ciel called, placing some paperwork in front of him to make himself look busy.

Sebastian walked into the room wheeling in a tea cart. There were also a small stack of Houndsworth bean cakes sitting among the cups and saucers.

A look of disgust crossed Ciel's face, "There are still some left?"

"I'm afraid so, my lord," Sebastian replied, "And you shouldn't consume so many sweets."

"Oh, shut up, will you!"

The butler only smiled, irking him more. He knew Sebastian was back to his old self as he only smiled whenever Ciel would snap at him over trivial things, such as a bean cake.

"I've learned something about you," Ciel piped up as Sebastian served him his tea.

"Oh?"

"It's not so much instinct is it? Everything comes naturally to you."

A confused look settled on the butler's face, "Sir?"

"I mean, not everyone can just walk up to the devil and ask for that sort of enchantment. That takes a certain amount of courage. Nerves of steel, huh?"

Sebastian was silent for several seconds before he let out a chuckle.

"I suppose you could say that."

"Back at the Trancy mansion, the butler Claude Faustus said that Satan wouldn't give him any information he asked for. He said that he was not in his good graces."

The butler's chuckle escalated to a dark laugh.

"That's because Claude is defiant when it narrows down to taking orders from Satan. I'm in his good graces, because I take his orders while also making my own decisions. I'm not completely submissive to him, nor am I a stubborn son-of-a-gun like Claude. I'm a bit of both, you see."

Ciel nodded as he poked at a bean cake with a fork.

"On that note," Sebastian continued, "I've learned something about you, as well, young master."

Ciel looked up at him, "What?"

Sebastian smirked, "I've never had a master care so much about me that they pleaded for my life and allowed themselves to be seen crying like you did earlier in the week. No one bothered to weep for me, period."

"I did not weep for you!"

"Oh, please, master. You wept like a woman."

"Knock it off! What's your point with that, anyways?"

"It's like I said; I've never had a master stoop to such lengths for a mere servant. Such a kind young master."

Ciel turned from him, "It wasn't kindness. Any master would stoop to some sort of desperate measure to make sure there's servant was all right. I was just concerned, is all."

"I'm very rarely shown concern, as well. Never mind. Call it what you like, sir."

The young earl nodded as he reluctantly stuffed a bean cake into his mouth.

"And one more thing." He piped up.

"Yes?"

Ciel shot him a playful glare.

"Never try anything like that again."

* * *

"Never try anything like that again."

Those words stayed with Sebastian for the rest of the day and well into the night. He considered that in order, as well, so there was no disobeying that. He'd be chained to Ciel until their contract was carried out.

After finishing his nightly rounds, Sebastian went out into the garden and sat by the stairs. Pluto was sound asleep, meaning he wouldn't be a nuisance to him until dawn.

It only took a few minutes of waiting for his company to arrive. A black cat with long, soft fur, emerald green eyes, and a giant plume of a tail padded up to him and brushed against his leg.

"Took you long enough, " Sebastian said with a smile, "I was starting to think you would never show up."

"Meow!"

Sebastian up picked the cat up and placed her on his lap. He patted her stomach and stroked her paws, scratched behind her ears and under her chin. The cat purred and purred with delight, eating up all the attention she could get.

Suddenly, there was a loud whine, and the cat was gone from Sebastian's lap. The cat's meowing and purring had woken up Pluto. In his humanoid form, he flung the poor creature away from Sebastian and curled up on his lap.

Sebastian let out and irritated sigh.

"Why do these things always happen to me?"

A disturbance in him brought his attention back to the mansion. Pushing Pluto off of him, he dashed back inside and up the stairs. The source of the disturbance was coming from Ciel's bedroom, and the closer he got to it, the stronger the feeling became. Pluto was galloping right behind them, barking and howling down the halls.

Sebastian didn't even bother knocking. If Ciel wasn't in trouble he was suffering from a really bad nightmare; well, night terror, was more like it. He threw open the door, sliding on his heels to take in the situation.

Of course , Ciel lie in bed, thrashing in his sleep; throwing his sheets and pillows this way and that. This has to be the worst one yet, because tears were streaming down the boys face. His head tossed left and right in the pillows, his fists slammed down on the mattress beneath him, and his legs were kicking out wildly. It was as if he were fighting something off.

"Young master!" Sebastian shouted as he rushed to his side. He gripped his shoulders firmly and attempted to shake him out of this horrid nightmare, "Young master, wake up!"

"N – no!" Ciel muttered in his sleep, "No! Stop! Stop! Don't touch me! Mother! Father! Sebastian!"

"Young master!"

Whether it was he was too caught up in the commotion not to notice or Ciel had moved faster than he could blank, Sebastian missed the boy's hands dive under his pillows and to draw the pistol that was always kept under them. A loud pop was heard before Sebastian felt an intense pain erupt from his throat. Something hard slammed against one of his back teeth, effectively knocking it loose from his upper jaw. Ciel had shot him!

The noise from the gun going off and the recoil of it was more than enough to shake Ciel out of his nightmare. He heaved for breath, sobbed, and glared all at same time.

Sebastian was looking at him with astonishment as he clutched his bleeding throat. The young earl had never struck him with any sort of weapon before; aside from a couple of darts, perhaps. For Ciel to actually see him as some sort of threat in a nightmare was shocking to him.

Ciel, getting over the hysteria from his dream, looked at him in horror as he took account of what was in front of him. The barrel of his pistol was smoking and Sebastian was standing in front of him, looking at him in shock and bleeding from the throat.

"My god, Sebastian!" He gasped, "Are you . . . Are you all right?"

Sebastian nodded slowly, "I . . . I think so."

"Are . . . You sure?"

Two fingers strayed into the butler's mouth, "Yeah . . . I think the bullet knocked a tooth loose, though."

With a groan, the butler yanked the damaged tooth out. Another grew in rapidly to replace it.

Pluto was looking back-and-forth from Ciel to Sebastian whimpering with concern.

"I'm perfectly all right, master," Sebastian said, uncovering his throat. Where the bullet had entered was now healed, "My question is are you all right?"

Ciel was still trembling, but he nodded, "I think so . . ."

The butler nodded and moved back towards the door.

"Sebastian!" Ciel suddenly called, "Stay with me . . . Until I fall asleep."

Sebastian nodded, "I will stay here."

Ciel laid back down and Sebastian covered him with his blankets.

For a few moments, it seems as if Ciel had drifted back off to sleep. That is, until he sat up suddenly and buried his face in his hands as his sobbing started again.

"Young master," Sebastian leaned toward the young teen, "what's wrong?"

There was no answer. Instead, Ciel threw himself into the butler's arms and wailed as if his life depended on it. It was clear to Sebastian that whatever had happened in the dream was something god-awful.

Not knowing what else to do, Sebastian held him closer; pressing the boy's head to his chest as his hands clutched the collar of his tailcoat. Nightmares only ever got this bad with humans, and Ciel had only ever had a nightmare this bad once.

"_Musing through memories,_

_Losing my grip in the grey._"

And, thus, the demon began to sing.

"_Numbing the senses,_

_I feel you slipping away._

_Fighting to hold on._

_Clinging to just one more day._

_Love turnes to ashes,_

_With all that I wish I could say._"

As he sang, Ciel was taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself. He listened to the steady beating of the demons blackened heart.

" _I'd die to be where you are._

_I try to be where you are._"

The rest simply came back through memory.

"_Every night,_

_I dream you're still here._

_The ghost by my side,_

_So perfectly clear._

_ When I awake, _

_You'll disappear_

_Back to the shadows_

_With all I hold dear._

_With all I hold dear,_

_I dream you are still here._"

* * *

By the time Sebastian had finished the song entirely, Ciel had been lulled back into sleeping. Pluto was curled up on the floor in a much similar state.

Carefully – trying not to wake him – Sebastian laid Ciel back down in his bed and covered him once more.

As he stood to leave, Pluto lifted his head.

Sebastian looked at him.

"The master is allergic to cats. You are a dog. The young master likes dogs . . . You can stay here tonight."

Pluto smiled happily and morphed into his large, wolf form. He was just small enough to fit into a room without taking up too much space. The hound walked over to Ciel's bedside and rested his large head on the end of the bed.

Sebastian blew out whatever candles were left burning and the left of the room.

"Good night, master."

* * *

THE END


End file.
